Austin Mini Cooper Mk I, 1966

The Morris Mini saw the light of day in the year 1959. The Mini was designed by Sir Alec Issigonis (who also designed the Morris Minor) and is considered to be one of the greatest concepts in motorcar history. The Mini is a front wheel drive car; that was not new those days, but the transverse-engine packaging was. The Mini is a very small car, only 305 cm. long (the VW Beetle is 100 cm. longer!), but the interior offers lots of space, enough for four persons, because of the clever concept. The Mini is equipped with a unique "hydrolastic" suspension and the Mini's wheels are located at the outer corners of the car giving the Mini tremendous road-holding; like a go-cart.
The Mini was an invention of Sir Alec Issigonis for Morris. Morris merged with BMC in 1962 and Mini became a marque of its own in 1969. The Mini was produced as a two- door saloon and as a two- door estate (Countryman/ Traveller).

Based on the two- door saloon John Cooper (formula 500, formula 3 and formula 1 racing-car constructor and a friend of Sir Alec Issigonis) tuned the Mini's engine which resulted in the birth of the famous Mini Cooper. The Mini Cooper combined a light-weight compact car, excellent road holding and a powerful engine. The combination of these factors resulted in a very competitive, "bomb-on-wheels", that was suitable for winning competitions...

The Mini Cooper has a great record of rally successes; it started with the victory in the Dutch "Tulpenrallye" with Pat Moss (Stirling Moss's sister) driving it. Many successes followed. The most remembered success was the victory in the Rallye of Monte Carlo with Paddy Hopkirk driving the "Works-Mini".

Technical data

Four cylinder in-line engine
cylinder capacity: 1071 cc. Mk I / 1275 cc. Mk II.
2 S.U. carburettors
capacity: approx. 80 bhp. at 6000 rpm.
top-speed: approx. 160 km/h.
gearbox: 4-speed, manual
brakes: disc brakes at front drums at the rear
weight: 635 kg.